


Worrying Behavior

by liberty_rose



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-30
Updated: 2013-08-30
Packaged: 2017-12-25 01:52:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/947211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liberty_rose/pseuds/liberty_rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joel has been avoiding Ray all day and it’s staring to make him worry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worrying Behavior

Ray had never been one to sweat the little things; it took something big to set him off. That was why Joel made him worry so much. He was such a big part of his life, that when things didn’t seem to be going perfectly, he became distraught. For the past hour, Ray had been sitting at his desk, editing and working on a few different projects. Within that hour Joel had walked by the open door to the Achievement Hunter office no less than twelve times. That in itself wouldn’t have been worrying, but every time Ray had looked up to smile at his boyfriend, the other man would quickly look the other way and shuffle out of sight.

It had been around Joel’s seventh pass by that the worry began to set in. It wasn’t immediately overwhelming, just a small knot in the pit of his stomach. Ray had experienced it before, whenever there had been a hitch in the otherwise smooth going of their relationship. But with each time Joel walked past the door, the knot grew a little bigger and a little harder to ignore.

On the thirteenth pass by, Ray refused to look up. In his periphery he could see Joel’s tall form hovering in the door way. Ray couldn’t pay attention to his work anymore, but he still kept his eyes trained on the computer screen, trying his hardest not to give into the urge to glance at the door and the man standing by it. It might have been easier if there had been anyone else in the room, but all the other Achievement Hunters had stepped out to— do something. He was sure that they had told him at some point what they were doing, but his brain didn’t cooperate with his request to recall the information.

He heard Joel move away from his spot and he huffed out a sigh of relief; he hadn’t realized that he had been holding his breath. By this point the worry had managed to twist itself into a massive knot. With teeth. It gnawed away at his mind and stomach, working its way to his chest and most valuable organ. Said organ was currently pumping harder than it should have been considering that the only thing he was doing clicking a mouse. But still, every thump of his heart pounded against his rib cage threatening to break through at any moment.

His brain was beginning to form thoughts that he never wanted to think about before. What if he’s getting tired of me? What if he’s realized that I’m not as good as he used to think? He’d be right. I don’t deserve him. He’s so talented and amazing and I’m just… me. Even though they had been dating for nearly a year now, Ray still doubted himself occasionally when it came to their relationship. Not Joel, though, he never doubted Joel.

The fourteenth time around, Joel barely stopped. He took half a second to glance into the room and then moved on. The fifteenth pass was the last one. Ten minutes went by before Ray looked towards where Joel should have been pacing. No one. He had been worried about Joel pacing back and forth, but, oddly enough, he was even more worried now that he had stopped.

Ray pushed himself back from his desk but kept his hands latched firmly to the edge. He looked at his hands for a minute, his fingertips pale from the force he was putting on them. He wanted to ask Joel why he had been pacing and why he had stopped. He wanted to ask if everything was okay between them. But his feet didn’t want to push him up and carry him to wherever his boyfriend had disappeared to.

Just go. He scolded himself for his cowardice as he sprung to his feet, a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins. It didn’t last very long though; as his foot hit the tiled floor of the kitchen, he faltered. Joel was slumped in one of the chairs at the rectangular table, his shoulders hunched over. He had one hand fisted against his mouth, his elbow on the table, the other was hidden beneath the tabletop. He apparently hadn’t heard Ray enter the room as he didn’t look up. His eye brows were furrowed over his brown eyes, creases etched into his forehead.

Ray hesitated a moment before he stepped around the table and fell into the chair beside his boyfriend. It was only then that Joel looked up, his eyes going wide. For a moment, Ray was afraid that he was going to bolt like a startled cat, but he remained planted firmly in his chair. There was a beat of tense silence as they stared at each other before either of them spoke.

“What did I do?” It was Ray who broke the quiet.

Joel tilted his head slightly, knitting his brows further. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if you’re planning on breaking up with me I at least want to know what I did wrong.” Ray’s eyes fell to the wood of the table.

“Breaking up with you?” Joel released a sort of scoff/chuckle causing Ray look back up, puzzled. “What in the world gave you that idea?”

“Are you serious?” Ray turned his body in the chair so that he was staring at Joel straight on. “You were pacing outside the office and every time I looked up, you ran away! You’ve been avoiding me the entire day!”

A look of disbelief flashed across Joel’s face. He reached out and placed a hand on Ray’s knee. “That is literally the farthest thing from my mind.”

“Then why did you vanish every time I looked at you?” Ray’s voice was soft as he laid his hand over Joel’s.

“I didn’t— I was just— Ugh. This is not going the way I wanted it to go.” Joel ran a hand through his dark hair, causing it to stick up in different directions. “Okay. I’ve been wanting to ask you something, but I’m really not sure how to do it. I didn’t know if I should be traditional or just ask you. But then, I thought maybe you wouldn’t think it was a good idea; I mean, you’re so young and I’m so old and—”

“Joel.” Ray cut across what was quickly becoming a rant. “What is your question?”

It took a moment for Joel to bring himself back from his wound up ranting state, but when he did, he pulled in a deep breath before he pushed the hand that had been resting in his lap at Ray. He uncurled his fingers and resting on his palm was a little black box. Ray took it and opened the top. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but what he saw was the last thing he thought would be there. Nestled in the black velvet was a ring, like were in most little velvet boxes, but this one was not gold or silver or any other precious metal, it was plastic. It was the kind of ring you got for a quarter from an arcade machine. The band was smooth and green and on the top, where most rings would have a jewel, there was a red plastic rose.

Ray glanced up, eyebrows drawn up quizzically. “What is this for?”

Joel rolled his eyes. “I want to marry you. But here’s the thing; It’s not just my decision to make, you have to say yes. So, that’s my question. Do you wanna get married?”

Ray just stared blankly, jaw slightly slack. He slowly blinked once… twice… Three times before responding. “This isn’t a joke, right?” Joel shook his head, a smile curving his lips. 

Ray nodded, pulling the little trinket from its box. It wasn’t traditional by any means, but if it had been traditional, it wouldn’t have been Joel. He twisted it around and examined it from every angle, light glinting off of its plastic surface. He didn’t say a word as he slipped the bauble onto his finger.

“Let’s do this.” Ray said quietly, looking back up at Joel and smiling.

A grin flashed across Joel’s face, his cheeks dimpling. He leaned forward and took his fiances face between his hands. “Let’s do this.” he responded.

Ray tilted his body forward and pressed his lips to Joel’s. It wasn’t devastatingly passionate or full of heat, but it was probably one of the best kisses in the history of kisses. It conveyed so many emotions through a simple touch of lips against lips. It wasn’t a big affair like most proposals were, but, in it’s own way, it was perfect.


End file.
